Half-marathon

Athletics Half marathon
Runners in the 2008 New York City Half Marathon

A half marathon is a road running event of 21.0975 kilometres (13.1094 mi) – half the distance of a marathon. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily since 2003, partly due to the fact that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a marathon does. In 2008, Running USA reported that the half marathon is the fastest growing type of race. A 2010 article by Universal Sports mentioned the growing popularity of the distance. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcuts. The half marathon is also known as a 21K, 21.1K or 13.1 miles, although these values are rounded and not formally correct. In many races finisher medals are awarded but they may differ from concurrent full marathons by color, wording, or some other attribute. In other events both races are put on the same medal although their ribbons may vary.

World records in the half marathon are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.

The official IAAF world record for men is 58:23, set by Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea on March 21, 2010 at the Lisbon half marathon in Portugal, and for women is 1:05:09, set by Florence Kiplagat of Kenya on February 15, 2015, in Barcelona, Spain.

This list is a chronological progression of record times for the half marathon.

Key:
  Listed by the IAAF as a world best prior to official acceptance
  Ratified by the IAAF as a world best (since January 1, 2003) or world record (since January 1, 2004)
  Recognized by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians